Dark Nights: Metal Reading Order Checklist

By Trevor Van As on June 26, 2017. Last Updated on September 16, 2017.

There’s something big brewing in the DC Universe. What it is we are not sure of just yet, but whatever is lurking in the dark corners of reality has Batman on the case to find out the answer. With Dark Nights: Metal, DC Comics’ latest comic book event, we get to see what lurks in these corners and the potential horrors they bring. Created by the legendary Batman team of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, Dark Nights: Metal looks like it will be massive in scale, full of crazy action and ideas.

Big events, especially ones with lots of tie-ins can be confusing to new readers and veterans alike. To help make things simple I’ve put together the Dark Nights: Metal Reading Order Checklist. Not only does it give the reading order to this massive story, but also the creative teams, release dates and other helpful notes. Soon you’ll able to dive headfirst into Dark Nights: Metal and thoroughly enjoy it without worry.

Happy reading!

Dark Nights: Metal #1 cover by Greg Capullo.

Do I Need To Read The Tie-Ins?

Short answer: No.

Longer answer: As you’ll see below, there are a hell of a lot of tie-ins for this event. But just because they’re listed there doesn’t mean you need to read them all. They’re totally optional side stories which add a little extra to the main story, but shouldn’t be required to get a full story.

Here are a few options you can take when it comes to reading Dark Nights: Metal:

It’s totally up to you on how much you read, based on your enjoyment and interest in the story plus your budget.

Before The Preludes

While not essential reading to understand what’s going on, there are many references to Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman run in the preludes. Bleeding Cool has collected some of the scenes that were referenced from their run here. WARNING: There may be spoilers so it’s up to you if you want to be spoiled.

Prelude

Dark Days: The Forge (Prelude)Written by Scott Snyder and James T Tynion IV. Art by John Romita Jr. and Andy Kubert. Available from June 14th.

Dark Days: The Casting (Prelude)Written by Scott Snyder and James T Tynion IV. Art by John Romita Jr., Jim Lee and Andy Kubert. Available from July 12th.

NOTE: Dark Days: The Forge and Dark Days: The Casting will also be packaged together in a Director’s Cut edition, with never before seen extras. This will be available October 11th.

Dark Nights: Metal

Dark Nights: Metal (1 of 6)Written by Scott Snyder. Art by Greg Capullo. Available from August 16th.

Dark Nights: Metal (2 of 6)Written by Scott Snyder. Art by Greg Capullo. Available from September 13th.

Dark Nights: Metal (3 of 6)Written by Scott Snyder. Art by Greg Capullo. Available from October 11th.

Batman: The Drowned (tie-in)Written by Dan Abnett. Art by Philip Tan.Available from October 18th.

Batman: The Merciless (tie-in)Written by Peter J. Tomasi. Art by Francis Manapul.Available from October 25th.

The Flash #33 (tie-in – Justice Insurgence – Part 1)Written by Joshua Williamson. Art by Howard Porter. Available from October 25th.

Batman: The Devastator (tie-in)Written by Frank Tieri. Art by Tony S. Daniel. Available from November 1st.

Justice League #32 (tie-in – Justice Insurgence – Part 2) Available from November 1st.

Batman Lost (tie-in)Written by Scott Snyder. Art by Doug Mahnke, Jamie Mendoza, Yanick Paquette, and Jorge Jimenez. Available from November 8th.

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #32 (tie-in – Justice Insurgence – Part 3) Available from November 8th.

The Batman Who Laughs (tie-in)Written by James Tynion IV. Art by Reilly Rossmo. Available from November 15th.

Justice League #33 (tie-in – Justice Insurgence – Part 4) Available from November 15th.

Dark Nights: Metal (4 of 6)Written by Scott Snyder. Art by Greg Capullo. Available from December 13th.

Hawkman Found (tie-in)Written by Jeff Lemire. Art by Bryan Hitch and Kevin Nowlan. Available from December 20th.

Dark Nights: Metal (5 of 6)Written by Scott Snyder. Art by Greg Capullo. Available from January 10th.

Dark Nights: Metal (6 of 6)Written by Scott Snyder. Art by Greg Capullo. Available from February 14th.

Spinning Out Of Dark Nights: Metal

DC Comics will be launching a batch of new series spinning out of Dark Nights: Metal, and will feature brand new characters and teams. These characters will appear in some capacity in Dark Nights: Metal or another. These new comics will have the banner of “Dark Matter.”

The Dark Matter comics are:

Challengers of the UnknownWritten by Scott Snyder. Art by Andy Kubert.

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Trevor Van As is the founder of How to Love Comics and has loved comics all his life. When he's not reading or talking about comics he can be found eating frozen yogurt and dancing like no one is watching.

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It’s totally up to you. Dark Days doesn’t seem to be heavily tie into a lot of the Rebirth mysteries that have arisen at the moment. I think the book that will really do that will Doomsday Clock, which kicks off in November.

Thanks for clearing all that up. I will probably follow the main storyline and not all the tie ins. I think it is overwhelming how many the ins there are. I have my fingers crossed that the story will be one for the ages.